Around the house with KPLU

The term "green kitchen" conjures up images of a fancy designer kitchen with thousands of dollars worth of eco-friendly appliances, countertops and flooring.

But you can also make your current kitchen significantly greener and healthier just by taking simple steps over a weekend at a more palatable total cost of well under $100.

Pots and pans
Start with your cookware. If your nonstick pots or pans are more than two years old or if the coating has started to flake, replace them, beginning with those you use most frequently. That nonstick coating - Teflon or similar brands - can degrade and cause potentially toxic emissions when the pan is overheated, according to the Green Guide (www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/nonstick). Greener replacements include stainless-steel, cast-iron or anodized aluminum cookware.

Faucet
Conserve water at the kitchen sink by installing a low-flow aerator, which screws on to the end of the faucet and adds air to the spray. If your kitchen faucet is fairly new, it will probably have an aerator. Imprinted on the aerator in tiny numbers is its rated flow of gallons per minute (gpm). New faucets today typically have 2.2 gpm aerators. Consider installing an aerator with a lower flow, such as 1.5 or 1.0 gpm.

Low-flow aerators can be found online or at hardware and home improvement stores for under $10. Take along your old aerator or faucet screen to the store to make sure your new one will be the right size. If you have an old faucet with no threads in the tip for screwing in an aerator, you will not be able to use one.

Light bulbs
If your kitchen currently has regular incandescent light bulbs, change as many as possible to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). For the best durability and quality of light, choose your bulbs carefully, using Internet research and recommendations from friends. In some fixtures in the kitchen you may want an especially bright CFL, such as the N: Vision Soft White bulb sold by Home Depot, which scored highest in recent lab tests by Popular Mechanics magazine.

If you have recessed fixtures or dimmers in your kitchen, you can also now find CFLs for those situations. When your CFLs do eventually burn out, be sure to recycle them properly, since they contain small amounts of mercury.

Cleaning products
Save money and reduce the clutter of products under your sink by eliminating several of them. For example, replace general cleaners or window cleaners with baking soda or diluted vinegar. If you haven�t used a chemical cleaning product in a year, ask if a friend can use it up, or take it to a household hazardous waste collection facility if necessary (for info call 206-296-4692 or visit www.govlink.org/hazwaste/house/disposal).

Then examine your kitchen sponges. In her 2007 book, "The Five-Second Rule," California-based microbiologist Anne Maczulak says, "Hot, soapy water and a clean sponge are excellent tools for kitchen cleaning. Always follow by rinsing surfaces with water." But she notes that most of us make the mistake of repeatedly using dirty sponges.

To clean a sponge, Maczulak recommends microwaving it when moist for two minutes, and then letting it dry. If a sponge is discolored or smells bad, replace it. Never use a sponge to clean up raw meat juices; use paper towels (preferably unbleached, with recycled-content) instead.

Recycling
Ask household members for ideas how to make recycling and composting collection in the kitchen easier for them, and try to put their suggestions into practice. One common, efficient system consists of a container under the sink for mixed recyclables (with possibly a separate one for glass) and a small canister on the counter for food scraps. Some folks also keep their food scraps in the refrigerator, in a reused plastic tub.

Appliances
Reduce your electric bills by keeping your refrigerator set at 36 to 40 degrees and your freezer at 0 to 5 degrees. Keeping them colder "will do little for your food but will waste electricity," according to the GreenHomeGuide (www.greenhomeguide.com).

For your dishwasher, decide on the most efficient settings and ask everyone in your household to use those. The California Energy Commission advises using the energy-saving cycle for all but the dirtiest dishes. And if you use the air-dry setting instead of heat-dry, you will cut your dishwasher�s energy consumption by more than 15 percent.

Big-ticket items
During your weekend kitchen green-up, also make plans for any upcoming major kitchen purchases or renovations. If your refrigerator or dishwasher is more than 15 years old, you can save money and greatly reduce your energy use by replacing it sooner rather than later. And when it�s time for a serious makeover, rest assured that an abundance of innovative new green products such as countertops, flooring and light fixtures are now available that could make your eco-dream kitchen a reality.

Note: Tom adapted and updated this article from a column he wrote that ran in the 2/2/08 Seattle Times.

For more EcoConsumer resources from King County, visit www.KCecoconsumer.com

Once again, this spring the Remodelors^TM Council of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties has cooked up another exciting Remodeled Kitchen + Bath Tour, April 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The annual event highlights the ingenuity and artistry of the participating remodelers who have worked with homeowners to transform their living spaces.

Remodeling can be a great option for many homeowners, particularly if a family loves their vintage home but their tiny kitchen or bath makes it impractical for their busy, modern lifestyle. Rather than moving from the neighborhood they love or pulling their kids from their schools, many families are opting to stay put and work with what they've got. Some families choose to maintain the period style of their homes but seek to create more workable floorplans, while other homeowners want to update the look and feel of their homes, or need to remodel to accommodate for changes in their lifestyle. Attending remodeling tours like the Remodeled Kitchen + Bath Tour, can stir up an abundance of ideas and inspiration for any homeowner looking to embark on their own home makeover.

This year's tour will feature 15 remodeling projects with a wonderfully diverse range of styles and features. These remodels incorporate clever use of space, environmentally conscious materials and fun new innovations as each remodeler solves the homeowner's space and design challenges to transform old, out-dated and awkward rooms. The tour offers real-life examples of how remodelers have transformed these spaces while working with the owner's budget and taste to make their client's dreams come true.

The homes on this year's tour are located in Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, Seattle, Bothell and West Seattle. Tourgoers will see features like travertine and bamboo flooring, Wheatboard cabinets, Paperstone and recycled glass countertops and other beautifully durable materials that are both earth-friendly and visually exciting.

One of the unique aspects of the Remodelors Council tours is that each remodeling team is on hand to discuss their projects and answer questions about their work so visitors can get a realistic idea of what might be possible for their own remodels. Tour Committee chair, Mark Jones of Druhan Construction, Inc. notes, "People really enjoy seeing the before photos and comparing them to the finished results, which are always so dramatic. If you're thinking about remodeling your home, these tours are invaluable because you see how the new methods and materials actually look in a home. People see firsthand how their own homes can be literally transformed and so often, in addition to improving the beauty of the home and the quality of life for its owners, a remodel can add considerable resale value as well." The Remodelor�s Council hosts another tour every fall, the Remodeled Homes Tour, which features everything from whole house remodels and additions to just a few rooms.

The Remodeled Kitchen + Bath Tour is free to the public. Passport tickets, which list the tour homes complete with addresses, project descriptions and photos, can be picked up at any Dunn Lumber location or consumers can log onto remodeltour.com for tour information.

To see pics of the Remodeled Kitchen + Bath Tour, check out The Around the House Flickr Page!

For more information on the Master Builder's Association, visit www.masterbuildersinfo.com.

Washington boasts a great diversity of native plants. These plants are an important resource and necessary part of our ecosystem. They provide habitat for birds, insects and wildlife. They help limit erosion on steep slopes. They can provide filtering for water runoff and protect fragile stream banks and wetland areas. They are the greenery that makes the Pacific Northwest the lush green paradise that it is.

Native plants make a wonderful addition to the home garden. They offer seasonal color and interest with interesting blossoms, fruits/berries, and a variety of foliage textures and shapes. Some native plants have foliage that offers varied colors during different seasons. Many native plants provide food to birds (and some have tasty fruit for us humans to enjoy as well!)

If you have a shady area, many native plants, used to growing under the forest canopy make a good choice for these parts of the yard.

Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry) is handsome plant with glossy evergreen foliage that looks good all year. The spring flowers are whitish pink bell shapes. The dark blue-black berries are slightly sweet, offering food for birds and a treat for the gardener. In winter months, the foliage takes on bronze burgundy hues and provides a spot of color. Evergreen huckleberry will tolerate sun or part shade, a variety of soils and is quite drought tolerant when established.
Height can vary from 2�-3� in sun, to over 6� in shade. Other medium growers such as mahonia aquifolium (oregon grape), polystichum munitum (western swordfern) rosa gymnocarpa (baldhip rose) make a colorful addition to the ornamental garden.

Selections such as holodiscus discolor(oceanspray), amelanchier (serviceberry), symphiocarpus albus (snowberrr), myrica californica (pacific wax myrtle) make interesting transitions to adjoining native areas.

For groundcovers, or foreground interest, a favorite is Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern). Smaller than the Western Sword Ferns it can be planted along a path in shade or part shade and is evergreen. Other choices are the lower growing mahonias (m. nervosa, m. repans), gaultheria shallon (salaal) for larger areas and arctostaphyllos uva ursi (kinnick kinnick) for sunny slopes.

Native plants need little maintenance or irrigation once they are established. Most are fairly drought tolerant but they will benefit from watering during the first couple of growing seasons after planting.

Washington state governor Christine Gregoire has proclaimed the week of April 27th-May 3rd, 2008 as Native Plant Appreciation Week. Celebrate this by adding a few native plants to your own garden! For information about the weeks activities, visit the Washington Native Plant Society at www.wnps.org.

Not sure how to work native plants into your garden? Contact me at pnw135@verizon.net for a garden consultation.

How do I appreciate native plants? Let me count the ways...

1. Ease of maintenance
2. Habitat and food for wildlife
3. Adapted to local conditions
4. Natural grace and beauty

I have been enamored with our native plants since I first moved to Washington 15 years ago. I fell in love with what others who grew up here may have taken for granted. Ah, sword ferns, plentiful and regal! The evergreen huckleberry with its coppery new growth and sweet, black berries-who wouldn�t like a plant that beckons you to make pancakes? I learned the identities of all the natives on my property and on hikes in the Olympics and Cascades. I�m still totally smitten.

Now I use natives as staples in my garden designs and add them continually to my own plot. In my mind there are two categories of native plants for the cultivated garden. Those more refined and suitable for prominent, high profile planting beds and those whose wilder ways are perfect for areas where they can mingle, tangle and provide shelter and food for wildlife.

Some of my favorites from the more refined category:

Lewisia cotyledon

Lewisia cotyledon is a tiny evergreen that finds nooks of soil in shady rock walls just to its liking. Few flowers last as long as Lewisia�s bright spring display.

Philadelphus lewisii (Mock Orange). When you open your bedroom window in June, you�ll want the fragrance of this shrubs� white flowers wafting in. This is another shrub that seems to be unfazed by different soils as long as it has a dose of daily sun.

Gymnocarpium Dryopteris

Gymnocarpium Dryopteris (Oak Fern). One would never suspect when admiring a stretch of this lush, woodland ground cover in the shade of firs and cedars that its drought tolerant. I�m not the only admirer of this stunner that made the 2008 Great Plant Picks�.

Definitely a candidate for the small garden where space is precious and all plants must be performers, Acer circinatum (Vine Maple) is a tree whose fall color rivals any other tree in the nursery. I love the shrimp pink seed pods (samara) that dangle off the branches in late summer.

For areas of the garden farther away from the house, try Physocarpus capitata (Ninebark), a hearty shrub with pretty white flower clusters in early summer and the most interesting striped bark you�ve ever seen. Birds love to nest in its dense branches and I like how fast it has filled in and given me privacy.

Vancouveria hexandra

Nothing says spring like Vancouveria hexandra. Because the leaves die back in fall, its best sited in a spot, say near a sundeck, that is mainly used during the growing season. Its delicate, pale green leaves are shaped like duck feet and its airy white flowers are charming.

Looking for a plant to fill a special niche in the garden? Natives can solve the problem of a challenging soil or exposure since chances are there is a native plant that has adapted itself to this type of location and will serve you well in your garden. My guess is, the more you try our native plants, the more you�ll appreciate them, this month and throughout the year.

By Colleen Miko, CPH
Colleen�s, A Landscape Design Company
www.colleenmiko.com

The process of buying a home can get confusing. With so many factors to consider - when to buy, market conditions, interests rates, and more - it's not at all unusual to feel a bit overwhelmed. Not to worry! We have some answers you might be looking for.

Q: Shouldn�t I wait until home prices go even lower to buy?

A: No. Just as no one can accurately predict the peaks and valleys of the stock market (name one person who sold their tech portfolio in April of 2000), the same holds true for housing. If you wait for what you think is the absolute best deal, you could end up waiting for years. All the market fundamentals show that now is a good time to buy - prices are down, interest rates near historically low levels, and there are lots of homes to choose from.

If you buy now, you will not only be in the driver�s seat during the buying process, you will also reap the gains of price appreciation. Remember, those who purchased homes in the early 1990s during the last big economic and housing downturn came out as big winners.

Q: Doesn�t it make sense to wait out the market until can I get the same price on my home that my neighbor got when he sold a year ago?

A: No. It�s always better to trade up in a buyer�s market. While the value of your house has fallen, the prices of higher-end homes have also dropped. Here�s an example:

Your neighbor sold for $300,000. Let�s say values in your area have dropped 10 percent, so you could get only $270,000 for your home today. You have your eye on a move-up home that previously sold for $500,000, but now is selling for $450,000. If you sold your home today for $270,000 and purchased the larger house for $450,000, the difference in price would be $180,000.

But if you waited to recoup the 10 percent value on your home and sold it at $300,000, chances are the move-up home would also increase in price 10 percent to $500,000. That�s a $200,000 price difference. So by selling today, you would actually save $20,000.

Q: Interest rates keep going down. Shouldn�t I wait until they go even lower before I buy a home?

A: Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages are currently below 6 percent and are extremely favorable for buyers. In fact, they are hovering near 30-year lows. But waiting to time the market is a dangerous game. Even those who follow the market for a living can�t figure out when interest rates will bottom out. If they could, they would all be multi-millionaires.

And home prices don�t necessarily move in unison with interest rates. So, if you decided to wait to purchase a home and the price dropped $10,000 from where it is today, you could still end up losing money. How? If interest rates were to move up by a half-a-point during this period, the savings on the reduced home price would be more than offset by the higher monthly payment you would be making over the life of the loan.

Q: I have $10,000 to invest. Should I put that money in the stock market or buy a home?

A: Purchasing a home is by far the best long-term investment. For example, say you use that $10,000 to purchase a $250,000 home, and the house appreciates a modest three percent during the first year. That means after one year, the house would be worth $257,500 - a gain of $7,500. By contrast, putting the same $10,000 in the stock market and posting a similar five percent gain would only net a $500 return on investment.

And don�t forget the tax incentives. In most instances, all of the mortgage interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be fully deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income. These deductions can result in thousands of dollars of tax savings, especially in the early years of the mortgage when interest makes up most of the payment.

Q: I�m a first-time buyer and still can�t afford the type of home that I want. Is it best to wait, keep renting, and hope that prices will get even lower?

A: If you continue to wait, you may never be able to afford to get into the housing market. Even as home prices are currently moderating or falling, depending on where you live, rents continue to climb. When you buy a home, you are also purchasing price stability, knowing that you will pay the same monthly payment for the life of your 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Once you become a homeowner, you are able to take advantage of the tax deductions that homeownership offers, and you begin to build equity in your property.

With so many homes on the market to choose from, your best strategy may be to scale back expectations for your dream starter-home. After a few years, you can use those equity gains to sell your starter home and move into a bigger house. The sooner you make the jump from renter to homeowner, the quicker you begin to create and build up wealth for your family.

For more homebuying information, contact the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties.